CNN BREAKING NEWS

Five Children Found Dead in Houston Home; Mother in Custody

Aired June 20, 2001 - 13:50 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. DONNA KELLEY, CNN ANCHOR: A little bit more on this story out of Houston with the five children who have been killed somehow -- we believe drowned -- and the Houston P.D. having some remarks with John Cannon now.

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JOHN CANNON, HOUSTON POLICE SPOKESMAN: ... came to the door. And the woman, who was still breathing rather heavily at that time, said, "I just killed my children."

And the officer then asked her where the children were. She led the officer to a back bedroom, where, on a bed, there was a sheet. And when the officer found that there were four children at that time on the bed who were dead at the scene, a second officer then came by the residence. And he did a search of the house and found a fifth child, who was in the bathtub of the residence.

The woman at that time was placed and detained and put into custody. She's since been taken away in a patrol vehicle, where we will take a formal statement from her. So we have not taken a formal statement as to the why of this. And it's just rather unimaginable.

QUESTION: And you said the officers were just devastated.

CANNON: The officers are pretty distraught. The responding officer has got a couple children of his own. These homicide investigators who are here at the house have children of their own. And it's a rather disheartening thing to see. And it will be for some time. I mean, it's a tough thing.

QUESTION: Thank you.

QUESTION: Were they patrol officers?

CANNON: Two guys that responded to the house -- yes, a patrol officer and a sergeant who showed up at the house.

QUESTION: OK.

KELLEY: John Cannon with the Houston P.D., doing what I'm sure a lot of people are at this point. It looks like wiping away tears.

That's five children found dead today. The mother -- we did get the confirmation. It is the mother. She is in custody. They are in the process of taking a formal statement from her right now.

As John Cannon was just saying, it's disheartening for the officers, too -- who have children of their own -- and, he said, rather unimaginable. As we talked to the public information officer earlier here on CNN, he did tells us that they are talking with the father as well. But he told me that he was at a different location. So he's not sure at what stage in that conversation with the father of these five they are -- five children found dead in their Houston home.

And we will continue to follow the story.

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